Worried about the continued killings across the country, the convener of Arewa Research Development Projects (ARDP), Usman Bugaje, has tasked communities on self-defence.

He made the statement yesterday at the Jaamatul Nasir Islam (JNI) annual Ramadan meeting in Kaduna.

According to him, the Nigerian security forces are incompetent, and had created room for the various communities to protect themselves.

Bugaje explained that the primary function of a government is to provide security and welfare, adding that the current administration has failed in making such provisions.

He said: “To continue to depend on the national or state security operatives is not ideal, because they have not been able to deliver, as insecurity appears to be increasing.”

He tasked the communities to organised themselves like Churches, Mosques and other institutions, and be prepared for the eventual collapse of the existing false and fragile arrangement, adding: “I don’t think it is sustainable.”

Bugaje stressed that the religious scholars and traditional institutions should become more proactive, stating that “If the kind of leaders we have today continue for another decade, I don’t know we are going to have a country.

“We need to find ways of protecting our selves. I am not asking for people to be armed, but for them to find a more sensible way within the bounds of the law to protect themselves,” he said.